Forbidden Memories
by Tenebres d'Eden
Summary: If she just remembered the incident, he would've never got hurt... and did the only thing that would've broke her heart: but he did. Is it too late to remend their friendship? Or is the wondrous memory that bonded them forever lost? [Abandoned]
1. Forgotten

The garden was beautiful- the most wonderful and magical place she had ever seen before. She pushed a strand of chestnut brown hair away from her face so she could see the environment better: there were billions of flowers surrounding her, kinds and species she had never seen before. The sweet, mystical scent of the nature enchanted her. It was almost completely silent in this mysterious garden… only the soft summer breeze blowing, the sound of exotic birds singing to each other, and the tiny trickling of freshwater from a waterfall not far away from her. She inhaled the air and sighed happily as she exhaled. That's when she realized she was wearing something strange, but breathtaking: the prettiest dress she had ever seen.

It was made from the strongest and softest silk she had ever known. The dress itself was kind of simple: it was the color of dark pink, almost as red as the rose. It was sleeveless, and it went down to her ankles. It wasn't decorated heavily at all: no jewels, no pearls, no precious stones… nothing. _But that's what makes it so beautiful and elegant, _the young girl thought.

She also realized that she was barefoot, sitting on a stone bench in the center of the entire splendor in the garden. She smiled: this was probably, what you call, paradise.

Suddenly, she wondered why she was alone in this place: no animals at all. _That's strange, _she pondered. _Usually, in a place like this, there's bound to have squirrels climbing on the trees, bees buzzing as they pick the pollen, and the birds…? I hear them, but they're not here…_ The chirping of the birds continued, but she couldn't see any of them. She frowned, and abruptly, this place didn't seem like quite a paradise at all. She tried desperately to search for insects, even the tiniest signs of red ants. Nothing. But the birds still sang… somewhere. As she sat back on the stone bench, she unexpectedly shivered… now she sensed that the aura in this place… was unwelcoming. As if she wasn't supposed to be here.

_But if I'm _not_ supposed to be here… why am I here?_ She wondered.

She was a little scared now: the garden belonged to somebody… that she knew. But what if they found her trespassing this place? What would they do to her? As she thought about that, she grimaced… just as she heard sudden footsteps coming her way.

_Oh no!_

"We found a trespasser here, Your Honor!" she heard a voice say. _It sounds weak, a little like a frog croaking_, the girl thought. But she knew it was a male voice.

"Do you know who it is?" a stronger, firmer male voice asked.

"No, we don't!" Another voice said. It sounded almost exactly like the first voice, like a frog croaking. "But soon we will because we're getting close to them!"

The second voice said nothing, but the sound of heavy footsteps became louder, and louder and louder until all of a sudden, three figured emerged from a bush near her.

Two were almost exactly the same: they had pale grey skin and resembled slightly like frogs, however it was absolutely clear that, in reality, they were small (and a little chubby) men. But the last one…

Even though she knew that she had never seen them before… somehow… she completely knew them now. It was as if a memory buried inside her head for such a long time has suddenly exploded as it remounted to surface.

The two small, chubby grey-skinned men were staring at her strangely, surrounding the third person… the most important one. Compared to the other two, he was much taller…and looked more human. He had shoulder-length dark hair, and he was wearing a weird assortment of white clothing… but what she noticed most about him was his eyes: it was the color of moss green, a beautiful, lively color if… they weren't so cold and cruel.

"Haku…" the girl whispered. " Is that you…?"

The taller and more intimidating figure gave her a hard gaze, and asked in a strong voice:

"What are you doing in my garden?"

"What…? _Your_ garden?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes, _his _garden!" one of the frog-men exclaimed angrily.

The other one was about to say something too, but the stronger figure gave him a tough stare, and he shut his mouth.

She felt suddenly sad… couldn't he remember? He was supposed to be happy that she was here with him now… what happened? Why was he suddenly so cold to her?

"HAKU! It's me… can't you remember!" she cried to the taller boy.

"Don't talk to me like that," he replied coldly. "And address me as Master Kohaku."

"Haku…" she said. "_Kohaku_… why can't you see… it's me, Chihiro! SEN!"

"There is no Chihiro or Sen in my life," Kohaku said evenly. "Now get out, unless you won't to be thrown out."

Tears started to pour from Chihiro's eyes, but she contained them as she cried to him:

"What happened to you! Why can't you _see…_!"

"Stop saying nonsense, you silly girl!" one of the smaller men snapped.

Chihiro ignored him, and tried one more time:

"There _was _a Chihiro in your life, Kohaku! And there is now! Remember? You promised me four years ago that you would meet me again… but you never came! But now, _I _came to you! But instead of being happy like you're supposed to be, you're as cold as you were in the beginning!" she stopped fore a while to take her breath, then she repeated her question desperately again: "What happened to you…? Why can't you remember me now?"

The two chubby men looked confused, but Kohaku just sighed as he answered:

"If there _was_ a Chihiro in my life before… then she was forced to forget me… that's why… I chose to forget her."

He spoke with his usual expressionless tone, but when she looked deep, deep down into his cold eyes, she could see sadness and pain. Suddenly, the image began to blur in front of her eyes, and she unexpectedly felt as if she was spinning… spinning, spinning, spinning around as the picture in front of her became more and more unfocused. It felt as if she was getting lift up into the air. Chihiro closed her eyes so she wouldn't get a headache, hoping the spinning would stop, but it continued to spin and spin faster until just then, she felt her feet hit onto solid ground again.

She kept her eyes firmly shut for a few minutes, before hesitantly opening them up to see her new environment. She wasn't prepared for such a sight, because it was utterly strange and inexplicable: the floor was like a window screen to a spinning aqua tornado, because it seemed to be spinning itself. Chihiro didn't know where the walls were, because there were hundreds of mirrors trapping her, creating a dizzy illusion. She took a step back and also realized that her clothing changed to: instead of her previously elegant dress, she was now wearing a green and white striped T-shirt and pink shorts.

_Why am I wearing my ten-year old clothes? _She wondered. They were long ago too small for her, but now, they seemed that they fitted perfectly. _This is all too confusing!_

She looked at herself in a mirror just facing her. She looked like her usual fourteen-year old self. Chestnut brown hair, tied into a long ponytail now going until her elbows, honey-hazel eyes… She almost looked like the same person she was four years ago, except now taller and a little more mature. Suddenly, her image in the mirror shifted as it became something… or rather _someone_… else.

Shoulder-length dark hair, expressionless visage, cold moss green eyes…

"Kohaku…?"

Suddenly, the image seemed a lot more than a reflection as it stepped out of the mirror to stand in front of her. He gave a short nod as he leaned closer to her, closer and closer…

"Kohaku…"

She could hear his heart beating and his even breathing… and she asked again:

"Why did you forget me?"

"When you crossed the tunnel," he said, closing his eyes. "You had to forget… and when you forgot, you couldn't remember anymore. You couldn't remember your friends… nobody… not even me. I couldn't live knowing that I once had somebody special in my life… who would never know my existence. I would be left with a cracking heart forever… unless I chose to forget... Forget you… forever."

"But…you remember me now, right?" Chihiro asked hopefully.

He said nothing at all, but opened his eyes and leaned a little more closely, and swiftly, she could feel his lips against hers for less than a second before he pulled away and disappeared… forever.

_No!_ Chihiro opened her eyes and was about to shout for him to come back when…

The floor cracked open and she was engulfed by darkness.


	2. Yubabaa's Happiness

A smile was for once pasted on her aging face as she continued to write on her scroll. She was seated at her huge desk, in the center of her marvelously decorated grand room.

"For once, the bathhouse is back to normal," she muttered to herself.

A few minutes passed before she finally set down her writing feather and rolled up the ancient scroll. She then slowly rang her tiny golden bell: the small, but clear sound rang through her apartment rooms. Immediately, one of her workers appeared at the entrance of her office. He bowed to her and said:

"I came to your call, Mistress Yubabaa."

"Yes," she said slowly and she levitated her scroll to him with her magic. "I want you to give this message to the Radish Spirit: what is written in this scroll is none of your business, you understand?"

"Of course," the worker agreed.

"The Radish Spirit will know what is inside. Now be gone and give this message to him as fast as you can!" Yubabaa then commanded him.

"Yes, of course," he babbled and he hurried out of her office.

When the sound of his footsteps disappeared, she smirked. _I still have my power over them… _she thought. _After she left, I feared that they would have the idea to rebel against me… especially Kohaku…_

Suddenly, the door to the nursery swung open violently as a huge baby crawled out.

"Yes, my precious?" Yubabaa said with a soft face as she got up to greet him.

"Will Sen come back to me one day?" the baby asked her with big, hopeful eyes.

Yubabaa sighed. Ever since Sen made friends with her dear baby, he was always hoping for her to come back. At first, she tried to convince him that Sen was a no-good person, but Bou would never hear about _that_. So instead, Yubabaa was forced to reassure him with lies every time he asked that question… which was very, very, _very _often.

"Of course, dear," she replied with a fake smile.

"Why don't you like her, mama?" Bou asked her as he stood up.

Yubabaa sighed again.

"You'll understand soon enough," she answered with a weary face.

That seemed to satisfy the baby for now, because he nodded slightly.

"Now, why don't you go back to bed, sweetie?" his mother then asked him gently.

"Do I have to?" Bou whined, "I just got up!"

"Okay then: you _don't _have to go to back to sleep. But at least go back to your nursery where you'll be the safest."

"Sen told me that if I stayed in the nursery all the time, I'll get sick."

"Sen doesn't know everything, dear," Yubabaa said softly, but with a slight pinch of irritation.

"Yes mama," Bou said as he crawled back into his nursery.

"Now that's a good little boy!" Yubabaa smiled as she closed the curtains at the entrance of the nursery.

When she was sure that Bou would not reappear again, she went back to her desk. _What was I about to do…? _She wondered. The answer immediately came to her. _How silly of me to forget! _Yubabaa picked up her bell and rang it again. Almost as fast as the first time, another one of the workers appeared at the entrance.

"I came to your call, Mistress Yubabaa," he said.

_They are almost all the same, aren't they? _Yubabaa thought with a small smirk. She then cleared her throat.

"Get Kohaku here: I have a new task to assign him," she said.

"Yes, Your Honor," the worker bowed and quickly left the office.

Yubabaa nodded to herself before standing up to go to her favorite mirror. It was about three meters in height and one meter and a half in width: it also had a golden frame decorated with diamonds. But its most important feature was that it wasn't any kind of mirror: it had magical properties. With this mirror, Yubabaa could see what her workers were up to.

The witch gently put her hand on the mirror and said:

"Show me Kohaku."

Rapidly, her reflection blurred and spun until finally, instead of her face staring back at her, there was a moving image of the worker she had previously seen, with a shoulder-length haired boy. The worker in the mirror ran to the boy and cried:

"Yubabaa wants to see you!"

The boy sighed and asked:

"It's about my task, isn't it?"

"Yes, Master Kohaku!" the worker nodded.

Still wearing an expressionless face, Kohaku nodded back before turning around and heading towards Yubabaa's apartments. Yubabaa waved her hand slightly and the image of Kohaku immediately disappeared, replaced by her own. She nodded, satisfied, before returning to her desk.

"This is the way it's supposed to be," she whispered to herself as she took another scroll.

There was never really any free time for her, because there were always scrolls to be filled, and workers to be summoned for jobs and tasks. She was still busy writing on the scroll when she heard a knock on her door.

"You may come in," Yubabaa said.

Instantly, both doors swung open as Kohaku marched in. His visage was unreadable as he asked her:

"What do you want with me now, Yubabaa?"

The powerful witch gave a brief, piercing glance at her apprentice. He was the only one who dared to call her 'Yubabaa', and not 'Mistress Yubabaa' or 'Your Honor'. _I wonder if this behavior has anything to do with Sen? _She thought, but she immediately shook her head. _He never really did call me anything suitable, even when Sen entered his life. The only time he called me 'Mistress Yubabaa' was his first few days here…._

"I'm giving you a task to do, Kohaku," Yubabaa answered him, now her attention back to the scroll. "But this time, it's going to be an easy one, and I doubt it'll take you more than a day to accomplish this one."

"What is it?" the boy asked.

Yubabaa put the final touches to her scroll before putting down her feather and rolling it up. Then, like the last time, she levitated it to Kohaku with her magic. He made a fast grab for the scroll before opening and quickly scanning it.

"This is what you want me to do?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," Yubabaa confirmed. "I want you to completely shut the portal of Majou No Sekai (**A/N: **that's the Japanese name for the Spirit World… right?) so that only spirits and gods can enter this world. I don't want any humans trespassing this place again, since the last one who came here almost destroyed everything!"

"Yes, of course," Kohaku agreed, nodding. "But I thought the portal was already properly shut…"

"Well, it is already closed, but I need you to make the final touches, because I sense that a human is coming near to entering this place… again. I don't want that to happen, do you _understand_?" Yubabaa then asked in a low, but dangerous tone.

"Yes, of course," the boy said. "I'll be going now."

But before he had the chance to leave, Yubabaa cried:

"Wait! I want to make one more thing clear."

"What is it?" Kohaku asked, fixing his steady gaze on the sorceress.

"I want to be sure that you can handle this task…" Yubabaa said.

The river spirit blinked in surprise, but managed to contain his posture.

"Of course," he answered, "since the portal is already almost properly shut, it is an easy task for me. You said so yourself… didn't you?"

"Yes, of course," she muttered. "You may go, Kohaku."

He nodded solemnly before leaving her office. When Yubabaa was sure that he was beyond hearing distance, she exploded with evil laughter.

"You completely forgot her, didn't you?" she cried to herself, when she stopped laughing.

"_You mean… everything that she experienced here… with us… with me… she will forget… all of it?"_

_Yes, he did, _she answered to herself, still smirking. She turned around to face her immense window, and saw the familiar silvery streak of light, which was actually Kohaku's dragon form, shoot into the air.

_He was a poor tormented spirit when he finally realized that she couldn't possibly remember… _Yubabaa thought. _But thanks to me, it's as if she never entered his life! It's seriously not my fault that _she_ was forced to forget him, and even if she could or did remember us, there's absolutely no way she could return to the Majou No Sekai… No way could she return to _him_…_

A wide, broad, evil smile spread across her aging face.

_Absolutely no way…_


	3. Going back Through The Tunnel

_No!_

She suddenly sat straight in her bed as she woke up from her nightmare. Chihiro panted hard, as if she had some kind of fight, and when she looked at her bed, she realized that she was half right: her covers seemed as if they had gone through a fierce battle. _That dream I had… _the young girl thought to herself. _It was so strange… it was so…? What? Why can't I remember it now…? _She frowned to herself as she tried to remember the horrible nightmare, but the memory was just out of her grasp. Feeling completely frustrated and helpless, Chihiro tried to calm herself with thoughts, such as:

_The dream mustn't have been that important… it was just a nightmare anyway… these days, it's normal to forget dreams, right? _But still, something was troubling her, as if her dream –or rather horrifying nightmare, she could recall, even though she forgot precisely what it was- was trying to tell her something. She shook that thought out of her mind. _That's just nuts, Chihiro! _She pondered, skeptical. She slowly got out of her bed, trying to decide what to do next… _Maybe I should just take a nice, short walk outside: that'll calm me straight up! _She thought, finally settling on for a fine, refreshing walk outside, even though it was in the middle of the night. _It couldn't be _that _late, can it? _She looked at her clock: it was one 1:03 am. That wasn't so late at all, Chihiro told herself. _And besides, it's practically in the middle of July! It must be hot out there, even at night!_

Smiling self-confidently, she changed into a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt and tied her hair into a long ponytail. Then she went downstairs, made a fast grab for her pink light-weight jacket, and before she knew it, she was outside. Chihiro inhaled the fresh air of night, before starting her brief promenade. Her parents knew that sometimes, their daughter could go outside in the middle of the night, and it worried them that maybe, one day, a criminal would find his/her way to kidnap Chihiro. But when they knew for sure that Chihiro was mature enough to understand that she should only walk around the neighborhood for less than five minutes, they felt their worries lift away. Chihiro was glad that she and her parents maintained a strong bond of trust.

Suddenly, she realized that she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking to, and decided to turn around: she knew that she should go back now. But, abruptly, she could hear the loud crash of lightning, and without any warning, rain started to pour. She was soon soaking wet, despite the fact that she created a tiny roof with her jacket. She groaned to herself.

_Great! I just had to go walk into weather like this! _She thought bitterly.

She ran as fast as she could to her house, but minutes (it felt more like _hours_ to Chihiro) later, she didn't find herself in front of her house, but in front of…

_What is this place?_

The tunnel and the building together looked ancient and battered, but when Chihiro got a much better and closer look at it, she realized that it was both made out of plastic! She put her jacket on as she gazed upon the building and the tunnel. She instantly knew that she should turn around so she could go back home, but something in her mind was insisting that she should go in there. _Am I nuts? I mean, going in this creepy tunnel… in this kind of weather! NO WAY! _She thought bitterly. But something in her mind kept insisting that she should go… Thankfully, Chihiro was very determined, and when she decided on something, it was final. She was about to turn around and forget about this place when the wind unexpectedly became its strongest point, and before she realized what was happening, she found herself swept into the mysterious tunnel. She tumbled in and fell face first into the mud.

"EEK!" She cried angrily.

She stood up and tried to wipe the wet, sticking mud from her jacket. But most of it remained. _This can't be happening… _Chihiro pondered, disgusted. She was then hit by a sudden wave of memory from so long ago…

"_Stop clinging to my arm, Chihiro!"_

_That was my mom's voice! _She immediately thought. _But I never remembered her saying that to me… and I'm not the kind of person who forgets easily! _She decided to forget about it… for now. She had to face the current problem in front of her: it was pitch black in here and she basically couldn't see anything at all! Chihiro then remembered that she had a mini flashlight in her jacket's pocket and sighed in relief as she took it out and turned it on.

"That's _much _better," she said to herself, a little satisfied as she looked around.

It seemed like a normal tunnel: deserted with a muddy ground and stone walls. She could hear the sound of rain drops splattering on the ground and she thought urgently: _I need to go home! _She tried to walk out the tunnel, but every time she tried, the wind would blow against her… and mysteriously, it was as if the wind was forcing her to move forward…

_That's so strange… _Chihiro thought, followed by an immediate shake of her head. _As usual, I'm not making any sense… I'm probably just a little paranoid and oversensitive… hopefully. _

Since the wind and weather was against her, the girl had no choice but to move forward. At first, it was basically easy, even though she had to admit, she was a little scared… But then… something was wrong. It was as if every step she took was a struggle: at first, it seemed as if it was tiny struggle, and she managed to convince herself that she was just getting tired. But then it became harder and harder to move on, and her next thought was this: the tunnel wasn't _that_ long. So something was definitely wrong. _Maybe now I can just turn back and head to my house, _Chihiro thought, but when she turned, a strong blast of wind rapidly discouraged her to go on.

_Great, just great: I'm now trapped between a small space in a filthy tunnel… excellent… _she thought to herself, annoyed. But it was clear that the easiest way was to move onward. She decided the best way was to run. She stepped back, took a deep breath, before speeding as fast as she can ahead. In the beginning, even though she felt resistance, it wasn't so hard. But suddenly, just so suddenly, she stopped as she felt herself bumping into something… But she didn't _see _anything… And then, as abruptly as before, she was thrown back. She hit the tunnel ground hard, and moaned in slight pain.

But she got up quickly, and yelled to no one in particular:

"What is _wrong!"_

Of course, as Chihiro expected, no answer. _Maybe I should just give up… _she thought to herself desperately. _I'll just wait here until the storm outside calms down, then I'll head back home. _But she had this huge, strong urge to move ahead… as if she had a purpose to go within the tunnel. But she _didn't _have any purpose to continue.

_Or do I…? _

She decided to try her strength against the strange power that prevented her from moving on. With a tight line on her lips, she walked forward until she could feel… this mysterious energy field that prohibited her from going on. She took a step back from the invisible wall, and then, with all her might, she pushed against it, trying to break or at least penetrate through it.

It might as well have been an useless attempt because the energy field was indeed much stronger. Even with all her strength, Chihiro knew that what she was doing was hopeless: the invisible shield was resisting her attempts, and she could feel that her power was rapidly shrinking.

_No… _a small, but clear voice in her head was whispering. She could hardly believe it was her own voice…

_I need to get back… I need to know… Why did you forget me..?_

She could feel her energy running out; it was as if the magical field was actually draining her power… Anytime now, she would lose consciousness…

_Why did you forget me…? Why can't you remember…? _Those phrases replayed all over again and again in her head.

Chihiro pushed harder, and harder. _Can't give up now, can't give up now… _Both her hands were sweating, and even though she didn't know what it was, she had a clear motive to break the shield so she could move forward… to the other side of the tunnel… the side that she had no idea will lead her to…

_Why can't you remember? Why did you forget…?_

She felt so tired; there was no way she could go on… and the mysterious whispers inside her head abruptly turned into screams of sadness and… pain?

_Why, why, WHY? Why did you forget me…? _

Anytime now, she would lose consciousness: but she still gave one last hard push… that's when her mind exploded:

_HAKU!_

The energy field suddenly broke, and she was thrown forward: but she didn't know what happened next, because just then, she lost her consciousness…


	4. Majou No Sekai

"Please tell me it was just a dream, just a dream…" she mumbled to herself.

She slowly pulled herself out of oblivion as she opened her eyes painfully. _It was just a dream… please tell me that it wasn't real… _She felt as if she was lying on something soft, but it didn't _feel _like her bed… Finally, her eyes were fully opened and she stared down at…

She wasn't lying down on something… she was lying down on _someone_. They were face to face, but only one of them was awake. It was a boy, Chihiro realized, and before she could stop herself, she gave a small cry of surprise:

"Aah!"

It wasn't a loud scream, but it was enough to wake the stranger. He moaned slightly, and his eyes slowly opened. Chihiro found herself suddenly gazing into a lively color of sparkling moss green eyes. But they were so… cold.

Abruptly, she was hit by a huge wave of memory: everything finally became clear to her. And she could finally remember her dream!

_The Spirit World…_

_The Bathhouse…_

_Yubabaa, the sorceress who owned the bathhouse, gave me this name: Sen…_

_And…_

_And…_

_Kohaku._

Suddenly, Chihiro knew who she was lying on… She stared at his mystical green eyes again and realized that he probably had the same astonished look as the one that was imprinted on her face. She was about to say something to him when a small breeze of soft wind passed her: she didn't know why, but it knocked her words out of her mouth. She blinked once and when she opened her eyes again, he was… gone. _How? _She wondered. _How could he vanish like… like that? _But then she remembered that Haku was a river spirit… and he did have supernatural powers. However, a question still plagued her mind:

_Why did he run away like that…? _

Chihiro shook her head and looked up again, making sure that she was seeing clearly. Unfortunately, she was: he was nowhere to be found. She sighed and got up, and then she looked around her surroundings. _The same plain I had to cross to enter Majou No Sekai..._ (**A/N:** If you didn't notice before, I'm using both names for the Spiritual World, okay? It isn't a big deal, right?) She thought. Even though it was night, the town across the grassy plain was still an abandoned amusement park… at least for now. Maybe it would turn to restaurants full of gods and spirits when she actually entered it…

Full of new determination, Chihiro took a deep breath, and started running towards the ghost town. She tore through the verdant plain, and sooner than expected, she was across it. But what lay in front of her still seemed like a ghost town to Chihiro…

Until all of a sudden, her vision blurred, and when it sharpened again, she didn't stand in the entrance of an abandoned amusement park, but of the Spiritual World. _I did it! I did it! _Chihiro cried joyfully in her mind as she jumped up and down. Unluckily, she stopped her brief celebration when she realized that:

_I'm a human: I'm _not_ supposed to be here!_

_I need to get some food fast before… I disappear!_

Already to her, she seemed as if she was fading. _Maybe I should just turn around…_she then thought bitterly. She whirled around to head back to the tunnel: but the lush green plain had turned into a midnight-blue ocean to no end.

"I'm see-through!" she shrieked to nobody in particular. "Oh, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?"

"_Here: eat this."_

"_No, no, no…"_

"_If you don't eat anything from this world, you'll disappear forever… And don't worry; it_ won't_ turn you unto a pig."_

_That memory…_ she thought. _It was from the last time I came here… _Thankfully, now she knew what to do. Sadly, this time… there was no Haku to help her.

"Okay Chihiro, take a deep breath: nothing is going to happen to you yet as long as you do something… fast!" she tried to reassure herself.

_I need friends here… _she pondered, and then she remembered again. _Kamajii! Rin! Of course, I need to get to them! But… how? _Chihiro also remembered the directions Kohaku gave her; the directions to Kamajii's boiler room. With that memory now in her head, the girl broke into a rapid run once again to the boiler room: past the many restaurants, past the eerie shadows… to be finally stopped by the huge bridge leading to the bathhouse. There were many people there, greeting the gods as they passed through the beautiful, grand bridge. But Chihiro knew that, at the mere sight of a human, they would be alerted to chase he/her. And this time… it meant her. _Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all… Maybe…_

"_You have to hold your breath when we cross the bridge. Even the tiniest breath will break the spell."_

"Maybe I should just hold my breath," she told herself. "Yeah… maybe that will work."

She walked up hesitantly, making sure that she was almost invisible to the crowd. She was about to take the smallest step on the bridge when an abrupt horrible thought came to her: even if she did hold her breath, _they_ would still see her because… _she didn't cast any spells!_ Chihiro started panicking in her mind as she heard the voices of yunas and other workers:

"Welcome! Welcome! We hope you'll have a great stay!"

But then she also remembered that she _did_ get caught that day four years ago, even with Haku's spell._ It was because I was a klutz, _she thought, and then grinned to herself when she realized that it was the same thing Rin always told her.

"_You're such a klutz, Sen!"_

"Well, I made it last time when I was a ten-year old klutz; let's hope I can still make it now!" she whispered to herself.

She took a hesitant step backwards before she dashed off towards the bridge. Almost immediately, she heard the surprised, shocked, angry voices of Yubabaa's staff:

"Ah! A human!"

"Catch it! Catch it!"

"I can't _stand_ there stench!"

"Yubabaa must be warned!"

But Chihiro ignored their rude comments as she continued speeding on the bridge, off it, and towards the boiler room. But she had to stop a while later, because she was out of breath. She hid into a nearby bush, and sat there as she was buried into her thoughts… What if Kamajii had forgotten her? What if he wouldn't help her? What if…? _What if I disappear before I even make it there! _She thought desperately as she realized she was already a half-ghost. She stood up and quickly continued her mission to find Kamajii… before she vanished from this world (and her world) forever! But of course, before she could reach the boiler room, she had to climb down… the long, dreadfully steep stairs.

_Okay, maybe I won't be afraid of them now: I mean… I'm now fourteen! _Chihiro tried to convince herself, but one look down and she shook her head, thinking: _Who am I kidding? I'm still afraid! But… but, I need to stay visible! I need to go to Kamajii… in order to know what happened to… Kohaku?_ She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes to relax for a second, before opening them again and… running like crazy down the really, really, _really_ steep stairs.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Chihiro screamed at the top of her lungs as she dashed down the flight of steps.

She felt as if anytime now, she would fall off, making it the end of everything… but thankfully, she survived to the last step, in which she tripped on and landed face flat on the stone ground.

"OUCH!" she cried painfully, getting herself up and painfully rubbing her nose.

It was then she knew, to her appalling discovery, that there wasn't much time left before she would disappear… forever more. She couldn't see her hands anymore! And her arms were just barely visible! Luckily for her, as she remembered, the door to the boiler room was very close by: Chihiro opened it and crept in. _Well, I made it this far…_ she smiled weakly as she thought about that. Even though her case was urgent, she walked tremendously slowly, and when she had a slight, tiny peak at Kamajii, she nearly fainted in surprise. Although she remembered him perfectly out of memory, he still looked a little strange… and terrifying in a certain way; even though he looked exactly the same way he did years ago… Once again, she had the peculiar feeling to quit, but her life was at stake! Chihiro marched up to Kamajii timidly, but determinedly.

"Kamajii," she said to him apprehensively but clearly and with a determined edge to her voice. "Do you remember me? It's me, Sen!"

He grunted as he worked on, ignoring her. Chihiro got a little irritated by that, and she cleared her throat and repeated again, this time much more loudly:

"Kamajii! It's me: Sen!"

This time, he looked at her, and he gasped in surprise, dropping whatever he was holding in his hand.

"Oh drat!" he muttered as he picked the thing up. "I got to hurry: by this time, the bathhouse is full of orders!"

"KAMAJII!" Chihiro shouted at him.

She truly didn't want to be rude, but she was disappearing every second!

"Yes?" the giant half man/half spider said.

"Do you remember me? It's Sen!"

"Sen? I remember no Sen…" Kamajii answered, scratching his head in a confused way.

"What!" Chihiro became awfully pale: she felt like fainting.

She felt terribly weak, now knowing that she came all this way… for nothing. Unexpectedly, she tumbled on something… something small, wiggly and black. Like a tiny spider made out of soot… a susuwatari!

Kamajii was exploding with laughter as he stared at her. Chihiro didn't have a clue on what was so funny.

"Sen! I mean… Chihiro! Of course I remember you! How could I not? I remember like it was yesterday when you stumbled into my boiler room, asking for a job! Why… look at you now! You certainly have changed: you seem like quite a fine…"

"KAMAJII!" Chihiro abruptly shouted at him. "Look at me! I'm disappearing! Please help… Before I… I…I-…"

But she never finished her sentence because just then, she felt as if her body had just been erased from this world. The first few minutes she spent in oblivion was horrible… she couldn't think right… she didn't know where she was… she felt like crying except she didn't have a body anymore…

But then, she felt another sensation: it was as if someone was pulling her body –no spirit- out of the shadows, and before she knew it, she was back with Kamajii, in the boiler room. Chihiro looked at her hands, her arms and her feet, hardly believing she didn't disappear forever.

"What… what happened?" she asked faintly. "Why did I come back…?"

"Huh?" Kamajii looked at her through his thick dark glasses. "Oh, it's a very complex spell! Only a few people know about it: I doubt even Yubabaa has even used it!"

"A spell?" Chihiro asked, now a little interested since now, she knew she wouldn't disappear.

"Oh yes, a spell… and a very hard one! You should be grateful that I know about it!" Kamajii chuckled. But then his face became serious. "Since you're here again and you cannot go back to your world (Chihiro gulped at these words), you should once again ask Yubabaa for a job. Or else you'll be turned into an animal! And this time, it won't be so easy since Yubabaa isn't quite so fond of you…"

"I know," the girl nodded solemnly. "But Kamajii, can I ask you something? What happened to…?"

But before she could finish, a small door slid open, and a young woman entered the boiler room with a big bamboo basket.

"Chow time already, Rin?" Kamajii asked, a little surprised at her arrival.

"Nope!" Rin answered happily. "I came here to remind you that you owe me, Kamajii!"

"Do I?" the giant spider asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course you do and you know it!" Rin snapped amicably. "You…"

But she stopped as she abruptly realized that there was somebody else in the boiler room. She let her gaze shift to Chihiro, and she gaped and stared at her, open-mouthed.

"Err… hi Rin," Chihiro greeted her timidly.

One minute Rin was staring at Chihiro as if she was an alien from planet Pluto, and the next minute, she was strangling her in a bear hug.

"Look here! Sen's back!" the long-haired woman cried joyfully. "And with her whole memory in one piece!"

The younger girl didn't quite get Rin's last phrase, but she was still quite glad that Rin actually remembered her. Rin looked only slightly older than she was the last time Chihiro came here, although it could have been a simple illusion because the difference was so minor…

"Yeah… I miss you too…" Chihiro mumbled as she struggled to free herself.

"I can't wait to tell him that she's back!" Rin then said happily as she glanced at Kamajii. "He'll be so-…"

However, she stopped when she saw the serious, stony stare Kamajii gave her back.

"Oh yeah… sorry," Rin then whispered softly.

"What are you guys talking about?" Chihiro cut in, frowning.

But both of them just shook their heads, refusing to tell her. Finally, Kamajii said:

"Rin, take Chi –I mean Sen, to Yubabaa's apartments so she can ask Yubabaa for a job."

Rin crossed her arms and put an irritated expression on her face, even though both Kamajii and Chihiro knew that she would be more than glad to do it. She sighed and then cried to Kamajii:

"Fine, I will! But now you owe me even more, old man!"

He just smiled at her before suddenly shouting at the susuwataris, who were all gazing at Chihiro:

"Get back to work, you lazy bums! Do you all want to return to soot!"

They shivered and right away, they returned to work.

"Now come _on_ Sen! Let's go!" Rin groaned.

Chihiro nodded, waved good-bye to Kamajii and the susuwataris and went to Rin, who snapped impatiently:

"Leave your shoes and your socks here! It's not like you're going to need them!"

Chihiro gave her a little smile, and took off her shoes and socks and left them on the ground. The susuwataris quickly came to collect them. Then she walked up to Rin, who nodded before they took off.

"So let me get this straight: you didn't completely shut the portal, didn't you?"

"No."

"And why, may I ask, was this task so impossible?"

"I don't quite know yet, but sooner or later, I am going to figure it out. Do you want me to try to close the portal again?"

"No, since I guess the intruder had already entered Majou No Sekai. Just keep your eyes open."

"Of course."

"Did you actually catch a glimpse of the intruder?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

"That answer does not satisfy me. But since it is not important, you may go now."

"Here are Yubabaa's apartments: now run along Sen!" Rin nudged Chihiro out of the elevator going to the top of the bathhouse.

The girl stumbled out rather clumsily as the elevator doors started to close.

"Good luck!" Rin waved before the doors were completely shut.

Chihiro slowly waved back, even though Rin was long gone. Then she sighed and went to the two, huge doors leading to Yubabaa's apartments. She was about to knock on the door when the doorknocker suddenly came to life, starting with a sick roll of its eyes and a sneer.

"So the little weak human has come back, huh?" it drawled with its raspy voice. "That was rather stupid of you to do so because this time, Mistress Yubabaa won't let you go so easily."

Chihiro tried to ignore the strange (and extremely rude) doorknocker. She was about to knock on the door (no matter how much the doorknocker protested) when abruptly, she heard a slow, hoarse voice saying:

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come in."

The two huge doors suddenly opened. A little panic-stricken, Chihiro took a cautious step backwards. However, that still didn't prevent the old sorceress from using her strong, powerful magic to grab Chihiro in anyways.

"AAAAAH!" the young girl cried as she was forced into Yubabaa's apartments, past several unimportant rooms, until finally she tumbled into Yubabaa's office.

_I hate it when she does that…_ she thought bitterly as she got up. When she gazed at Yubabaa's indifferent face, she realized that the aged witch was staring back at her with suspicion and irritation.

"So you came back, didn't you? Even though I gave you a chance to go back in your own world?" Yubabaa asked slowly, glaring at Chihiro. "And now you're here. What do you want now?" she snapped.

"Please give me a job!" Chihiro heard herself blurting out before she had a chance to stop herself.

The old sorceress returned her attention to one of her scrolls as she said:

"Ah, I see that you are the same little, rude, spoiled brat that you were four years ago... Interesting that humans never seem to learn their lessons…"

Chihiro blushed at the blunt words. Yubabaa then suddenly looked up from her work, and barked:

"I should just turn you into an animal for what you did in the past! You are an insolent, lazy girl, even after these years! I don't even know why you bothered to come back here! I thought at least you had some sense in your thick head to know that you should never trespass in the Spiritual World again! But no! You are like the rest of your kind! And I don't know how you managed to break into the portal, even though it was almost entirely closed! But I guess it doesn't matter anyway since you can embrace your lazy life as a human good bye because from now on, you're spent your life as a tiny, fragile piglet!"

Chihiro shivered at those harsh words, but Yubabaa continued:

"No! A piglet is too good for you! I should turn you into something more… horrifying! More disgusting… something so bad you'll fall onto your knees and beg like a low-life being! Why not a piece of coal…?"

"No!" the young girl cried out. "Please! Just give me a chance to prove to you that I am no longer the lazy brat you knew four years ago! I want a job… PLEASE!"

"SILENCE!" Yubabaa roared. "Zip your mouth!"

And Chihiro felt her mouth getting zipped up. She tried to speak, to shout, but it was no use. Yubabaa seemed to calm down slightly as the sight of a quiet Chihiro, because she then asked softly:

"So Sen… why did you come back to the bathhouse anyway…?"

She felt her mouth getting unzipped when the witch finished her question, and she gasped for air, grateful that her moment of forced silence was short.

"I came here…" she answered slowly. "Because I had this strange dream… and now I'm asking: what happened to Kohaku? You didn't do anything terrible to him, did you!"

Once she finished her question, Chihiro was deeply astounded when Yubabaa burst out laughing. More like cackling, because she had the feeling that the sorceress' laughter could be heard from all over the bathhouse.

"Well… what happened to him?" the girl never knew she had that much nerve to ask that question again… to a person that can turn her into a tiny, chubby piglet anytime she wanted to!

Yubabaa stopped laughing and returned her attention to her desk.

"That is not for me to tell you," she replied evenly. "You'll have to figure it out yourself."

Chihiro knew better than to argue with the old witch, so she kept silent until she questioned:

"Can I have a job then?"

"No. I am now deciding what animal… or thing… I should turn you into: a piglet, a rat, a piece of coal, or…" she smiled evilly. "Dragon chow?"

Again, these words sent shivers to Chihiro's spine, but she kept determined. The last time she was here, she managed to make Yubabaa give her a job, and she'll do it again, if she had to! Because she had a feeling that she didn't regain her precious memories of this world for nothing… That's when she got a brilliant idea to make Yubabaa give her a job…

"Err… Yu –I mean Miss Yubabaa…"

"Yes, dragon chow?" Yubabaa asked, raising her eyebrow and her finger as she prepared to give Chihiro the ultimate punishment.

"I remembered that four years ago, you made an oath that you'd accept any worker who was determined to have a job, right?" Chihiro asked tentatively. "And I guess you didn't break the oath yet… did you?"

Yubabaa sighed loudly and put down her finger.

"Urgh… I wish I never made that stupid oath," she muttered. Then she cleared her throat and said more loudly to Chihiro: "Even if I did make the oath you're talking about, I can easily break it!"

But Chihiro kept her gaze steady on Yubabaa's, and the witch's mouth twitched as she realized that she couldn't get rid of this human as easily as she expected. Finally, she levitated a contract with her magic to Chihiro.

"You got some nerve for a human!" she hissed at the young, and fragile (in her opinion) girl. "And since I can't get rid of you, I…"

She didn't bother to finish her sentence, and Chihiro looked at her contract: it seemed like the same one she signed the last time she came to the Majou No Sekai.

"I need a pen please," she said to Yubabaa when she realized she didn't have anything to sign the contract with.

Yubabaa sighed once again, threw a pen at Chihiro, and muttered:

"The only reason I'm letting that human get away with this instead of turning her into dragon chow is because I swore on Bou, and I would never, ever give him away!"

Chihiro heard that and smiled secretly to herself, and she was about to sign her name when Yubabaa said:

"You know… you could as well sign your name as 'Sen', because I don't see the point of taking your name away from you."

"What?" Chihiro asked, startled.

_But then… how will she control me..?_ She wondered. But she regretted her question when the sorceress said again, this time with a smirk on her face:

"I know what you're thinking Sen: and I have other ways to control you."

"H-… h-… how?" the young girl asked, half-trembling as she revised the possibilities.

"One of the best ways is to directly take a memory of a loved one out of your mind," Yubabaa stated, and even though she wasn't smiling or smirking in any way, Chihiro could have sworn she saw a malicious sparkle in the witch's eyes.

"Err… is there any other way?" she asked hesitantly.

Yubabaa glared at Chihiro, and for a second, the girl thought that Yubabaa would surely turn her into a piglet. Thankfully, the aging witch had something else in mind:

"I guess there is other ways… What about this, Sen? Since you are a human and you don't belong here, I'll take away your freedom…" she paused for a while before ending: "It means you will be stuck in the Spirit World forever more, and there will be absolutely no way you can ever return to the human world… again."

Chihiro gulped, and her eyes must have shown deep fear because Yubabaa smiled nastily and added:

"Of course, you _don't_ need to sign the contract… and instead, I can just turn you into dragon chow."

The human girl looked at her contract once again, and then at Yubabaa. _Do I really want to be stuck forever… just to see Kohaku… and the others… again? It wasn't worth it…_ She felt weak and stupid. But she had to remind herself that she never had a choice: _And either way, I'll be stuck here…_ She sighed sadly and declared quietly:

"I'll sign the contract."

Yubabaa's malicious grin spread wider as she said:

"That's a good girl, Sen."

Chihiro winced as she turned around, pressed the contract on the wall so she could actually sign it, and touched the paper with the pen. Within seconds, it was done and it was now final: she was stuck in the Majou No Sekai and there was no way out. _I hope it'll all be worth it…_ she thought. _I hope I'll see him again… Kohaku, I hope you're grateful that I came all this way, made all these sacrifices… to fulfill your promise… I hope._

Yubabaa levitated the contract and the pen away from Chihiro, who was now Sen. She grabbed the contract, which disappeared immediately in her hands, and let the pen gently land on her desk. Then the mistress of the bathhouse turned away from the human girl, and said quietly:

"Welcome to the Bathhouse, Sen."


	5. The Life of Sen

"Now, I'll need somebody to escort you back downstairs," Yubabaa sighed as she said that.

Sen suddenly perked up. Maybe… just _maybe_… it'll be Kohaku, like the last time. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side today because, instead of Kohaku, one of the male workers (who very strongly looked like a frog, in Sen's opinion) entered the office. He bowed to Yubabaa, exclaiming:

"I came to your call, Mistress Yubabaa!"

Sen's shoulders slumped, and she frowned slightly at the frog-man.

"Escort Sen back downstairs: then you can find somebody else to look after her," Yubabaa ordered him.

The male worker nodded, but then wrinkled his nose and put a disgusted face when he detected the 'stench' of humans. Abruptly, his gaze shifted to Sen, and he gasped.

"Sen's back!" he cried in astonishment.

"I _realize_ that," Yubabaa snapped irritably.

_At least people here still remember me…_ Sen thought, trying to cheer herself up at least the slightest.

"Of course you did, of course you did," the worker muttered in apology. He turned to the human and commanded: "Well? What are you waiting for? Follow me!"

Sen immediately bowed her head down and babbled:

"Yes sir!"

The worker smiled, satisfied. It wasn't everyday people around here treated him with the respect he deserved. Sen marched up to him, and he turned around and walked out of the office, making sure that the human girl was still behind his heels. He then got in an elevator, followed by Sen of course. When the doors were properly shut and the elevator was going down, he turned to the girl and said:

"I didn't tell you my name, didn't I? I am Aniyaku!"

Sen turned to him, a little surprised.

"Ani…yaku?"

"Yes, that's me!" the worker nodded furiously.

Sen nodded a little solemnly in return. She really didn't feel like talking now…

"Why did you come back, Sen? I mean… Yubabaa made it clear she never wanted to see you back the last time you were here… did you know that?" Aniyaku talked on. He was about to say something else when Sen interrupted him:

"Please no useless chattering: I'm sorry but I don't feel like talking now."

The elevator doors then swiftly opened, and Sen was about to get out to meet Rin when she heard Aniyaku mutter:

"Just like Kohaku..."

She stopped unexpectedly, and abruptly turned around, asking:

"Kohaku?"

But Aniyaku had already gone off to somewhere else.He_ was supposed to accompany me downstairs and _hand_ me to somebody else, instead of just running off like that!_ Sen thought, a little annoyed. Thankfully, Rin told her where to meet after she got the job from Yubabaa. The girl started towards the direction to one of the yunas' sleeping quarters when she heard someone say:

"Master Kohaku! Where have you been?"

Then Sen heard the cool reply:

"That is none of your business. Anyway, what do you want with me, Aogaeru?"

The girl crept closer to the conversation, which was in the main hall where Yubabaa's workers usually greeted their guests. She walked silently into the central hall, but luckily, no one noticed her since there were workers bustling by every second… plus the hall was _huge._ It was so loud in the main hall that Sen wondered how she could even here the particular conversation. She turned her head to search for the voices and, all of a sudden, she saw a vivid green frog _talking_ to a boy with penetrating moss green eyes. _It doesn't seem that Haku even changed since the last time I saw him…_ Sen thought as she stared at the boy. Sure, he was now a little taller, but his face only matured slightly… so slightly it really didn't make a difference in his almost untouched appearance. Aogaeru fidgeted a little at Kohaku's last question, but still came up with a satisfactory answer:

"There's a human here! She was discovered quite a while ago, but now she just disappeared… but I still don't know why people here are so calm."

But at the sound of the word 'human', many workers and yunas gasped and turned around to search for 'it'. Then they started whispering to each other, and soon, the word was spreading through the entire bathhouse… _again._ But Kohaku didn't even blink as he said:

"Then search for her and hand her in to Yubabaa: I don't see why you need me for. If you were smart enough, you would have figured that out by now. Now tell everyone to calm down now. No sense worrying about a human at all."

He then turned his heels and left the main hall, leaving an embarrassed Aogaeru and many confused and alerted workers. _This is my chance now…_ Sen pondered. _But… what will_ they_ do when they see a human…?_ Even though she already had a job here, Yubabaa's staff wouldn't accept her that easily… She was still hiding in the crowd, crouching down so to not to stand out. But she really needed to find Haku to figure out what the dream meant… _Urgh! The dream could have been just a dream, Sen! _She told herself. _It probably didn't mean anything at all! _But as much as she tried to convince herself, she still felt as if the dream had to mean _something._ She sighed, put a determined face, got up, and dashed off to where Kohaku left. The reaction was immediate: the yunas started screaming hysterically (in which Sen had absolutely no clue _why_) and the male workers (frog-men) started to shout for her to stop.

"CATCH HER!" they all roared at once.

Sen stopped for a second to reply at the top of her lungs:

"I HAVE A JOB HERE! MY NAME IS SEN!"

Most of the workers stopped, confused at the mention of Sen, but a few kept chasing her. _They are annoying…_ the girl thought irritably as she left the main hall in search of Kohaku. But her chasers were still hot on her tail, and she knew that any moment now, she would be caught. That's why she suddenly ducked into a small closet, a closet so small she could just barely fit in, and waited until she was utterly convinced that all of the workers were gone. She was about to get out of her hiding place when swiftly, the closet slide door slid open by itself… or so it seemed till a hand reached out. _Oh no… am I caught? _Sen wondered, already half-petrified, until she looked up towards the owner of the hand. Then she sighed of relief and grinned.

"Rin! I'm so glad it's you!" Sen cried happily.

"You and me both!" Rin laughed back. "I thought for sure you were toast… either by Yubabaa or by _them!_"

Of course, she was talking about the workers who were just before chasing her, and both of them giggled in unison, knowing that for now, the small danger had passed.

"I can't believe you can actually fit in that closet!" Rin then cried. "Let me help you out since I doubt you can do it yourself!"

Sen smiled weakly and let her help her out, for indeed, it did prove _very_ hard to get out of this small space.

"What were you doing anyway? I thought I made it clear to you that you should meet me right after you got the job!" Rin then put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"Well…" Sen answered. "I was about to do that when I saw Kohaku… and I thought maybe you could wait a little longer while I… find him?"

She expected Rin to scold her for thinking of Kohaku more than her, but instead, something strange happened: the young woman's face turned dreadfully pale, but she still managed to ask Sen:

"But… you didn't talk to him yet, did you?"

"No, because I lost him when I was chased by those workers," Sen replied, now a little irritated by Yubabaa's staff for making her lose Haku.

Rin sighed of relief, and appeared to have returned to normal, because she then scolded Sen:

"Next time you want to wander off like that, tell me! No sense making me all worried like that!"

The younger girl smiled weakly and nodded. But in her mind, she was still wondering why Rin acted so weirdly…

"Now, let's get back to our sleeping quarters!" Rin then declared. "I have this feeling that tomorrow will be a busy day… or night!"

Sen nodded and they both headed back to the familiar place where Sen slept the last time she was trapped in Majou No Sekai. When they arrived, Rin immediately started looking for Sen's appropriate clothes' size.

"Let me see…" the young woman mused as she took out a small shirt. "Is this for you?"

She compared Sen with the shirt, and then shook her head:

"That's too small!"

She then took another shirt out, this time a huge one.

"What about this one?" she asked, and quickly scanned Sen before shaking her head. "That's too big!"

She tossed that shirt away as she took another one, but she almost immediately discarded it.

"Way too big!" Rin muttered to herself.

Ten Minutes Later….

"That's the _perfect _size!" Rin finally exclaimed happily as she gave the pink shirt to Sen, along with the other pieces of clothing.

The younger girl inspected her clothes, and then stated to Rin:

"They look like the same thing I wore the last time I came here…"

"Of course, you dope!" Rin answered. "It's not like Yubabaa care about her workers' clothes fashion!"

Sen nodded and sat down on the floor. She was glad that, for now, the yunas' sleeping quarter was empty… except for her and Rin, of course. Rin seemed to notice that too, since she sat down with Sen and whispered:

"Hey! Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the human girl replied back.

"I heard that you lost your memory when you crossed the tunnel… how come now, you seem to remember everything perfectly?"

Sen hesitated for a moment before answering:

"It's because I had this strange dream… and a pretty confusing one, too! I kind of dreamt of meeting Kohaku, but he didn't seem to know me… but then the dream moved on, and he was still there: but this time, he seemed to know me. I asked him why before, he couldn't remember me… and he said…" Sen thought for a while before continuing: "He said something like he _chose_ to forget me… and that's about it."

She didn't want to mention herself being swallowed by the shadows (which was the main reason the dream was a nightmare), and the other part… before she fell into the dark pit (which was personal). She looked up and was quite astonished that she found Rin fidgeting uncomfortably on the floor.

"Are you okay?" she then asked her, a little worried.

Rin looked up, realized that she was fidgeting, and shook her head, reassuring her:

"No, I'm just fine." Then she hastily said: "We should get some sleep now! As I said before, tomorrow, I know, it's going to be a busy day!"

Sen didn't argue with her, but now, she was definitely quite suspicious: she had the feeling that Rin… and maybe Kamajii too… were hiding an important secret from her… a secret about Kohaku.

She was running frantically through the bushes, as if she was being chased by someone dangerous. It was midnight now, and the bright, clear moon was full. As she ran, Sen found herself in a huge, green forest. The trees blocked her way, and she could hear the menacing footsteps coming closer, but she somehow managed to find herself out of the dense trees, and into a calm, quiet clearing. There was a small, peaceful waterfall beside her, its fresh, transparent water trickling into a small pond. And there, on a huge, granite stone in the middle of that pond, was the most beautiful scene Sen had ever seen.

A long, graceful white dragon, with a flowing, sea green mane, was curled onto the granite stone… sleeping serenely without a care in the world. It caught her breath away. Suddenly, she felt as if she was in the safest place in the world: in this small, calm clearing… with him. The intruding footsteps suddenly faded away as the girl stepped into the water to join the dragon. Sen climbed onto the huge stone, and found herself right next to the fearsome beast. She caressed his mane, which was soft and silky to the touch. She could also hear the faint thumping of his heart beat, and his breathing was quiet and steady.

"Kohaku…" the girl whispered into his ear.

The dragon slept on. The girl wrapped her arms onto his slender neck, and the dragon merely grunted in his sleep. She closed her eyes in pleasure, even though she had no intentions of sleeping herself. Seconds ticked by… which turned into minutes…and eventually hours. Suddenly, the mighty creature groaned and started to wake up. Sen's eyes flew open as she gazed at his eyes… which were slowly starting to open… but before they were opened completely…

"SEN! WAKE UP!"

"Wha…?"

She rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat up. When she was properly awake, she found a very irritated Rin in front of her.

"You overslept, Sen!" Rin snapped at her, fractious. "In the bathhouse, oversleeping is going to cost you a lot! Now up and at'em!"

It took a few moments before Sen knew the situation: she was stuck in Majou No Sekai, in the bathhouse, and now she worked here. And the dream… she groggily stood up, making sure she still remembered her real name (which she did easily since she actually signed her contract with the name 'Sen'), and changed herself into her work clothes. Then she followed an already annoyed Rin to start her first… and most… horrible day at work.

"Rubbing, scrubbing, sweeping, cleaning, running, washing and working… is this going to go on like this everyday from now on!" Sen complained at the end of her dreadful day while stuffing herself with her supper.

"Yep, and you better get used to it!" Rin answered happily.

A few yunas nodded in agreement with her. Sen groaned in frustration as she continued eating her bowl of rice and fish. (**A/N: **Hey, just to tell you, I'm not Japanese so I don't know what they eat, okay? But I can get a faint idea since I am Asian too! And I come from the country very similar to Japan… or not… you _would_ know if you read my profile ) She, Rin, and a few yunas were all now eating their supper in their sleeping quarter, and soon, they would be getting ready for bed.

"So, have anyone of you seen Kohaku today?" Sen then asked her most common question.

Several yunas just rolled their eyes, and one of them said:

"That's _Master_ Kohaku to you!"

Then they all (except Rin and Sen) started to giggle. Sen scowled fiercely, and Rin ushered them to quiet down.

"Why does it matter so much to you anyway?" another one of the yunas then questioned.

Sen didn't want to answer that question at all, and thankfully, before she even could, there was a knock near the entrance of the slide door.

"You get it, Sen!" a yuna told her, and all of them (including Rin) nodded in agreement.

"Thanks a lot," the girl muttered as she got out of the room to greet the knocker.

It was Aniyaku, the same worker who was _supposed_ to get her downstairs and to _hand_ her to somebody else (namely Rin) yesterday. Sen frowned slightly at him, which made him fidget nervously on the spot. He cleared his throat and said:

"I carry a message for Sen."

"That's me," the girl replied, and then asked. "Who's it from?"

Aniyaku shrugged.

"I have no idea, to be honest."

"Fine, then can you please give it to me?" Sen asked after a small sigh.

"Of course!' he fumbled in his pockets to hand her a large, expensive scroll (probably one from Yubabaa's office, Sen thought).

"Thank-you," the girl said, and with the message now in her hands, she turned around and headed back to the sleeping quarter.

"So… who's it for?" a yuna asked her as soon as she got in.

"For me," Sen replied.

"From whom?" Rin questioned.

"That's what I'm going to find out," Sen declared as she unrolled the scroll. At once, she exclaimed: "It's from Bou!"

Several yunas gasped.

"You mean… Yubabaa's baby?" they all asked at once. "I didn't know he could write!"

"Yep, that's him! And I bet he just dictated this message while somebody else actually wrote it for him," the human girl answered happily. "I wonder what he wants…"

She quickly read through the message (after correcting the misspellings in her head), and gasped.


	6. The Unexpected Trip to The Nursery

_Oh no… he can't mean what I…! _Sen reread the letter again, hoping it wasn't true. Unfortunately, it was. How in the heck would she be able to pull it off? If she got caught…. Oh boy, she didn't even want to _think_ what would happen… She hastily rolled the scroll and put it aside, and that's when she realized that everyone was staring at her.

"What?" she questioned, trying to act clueless.

"Well… what did the message say?" one of the yunas asked curiously.

"Oh nothing!" Sen lied innocently, hoping to convince the yunas. "Just asking how I am and other unimportant stuff…"

All the yunas looked at her skeptically, except Rin, who knew that her human friend would fill her in later, but happily, the conversation soon moved on.

At last, everybody in the sleeping quarter was asleep, except for Sen and Rin, who were both on the balcony.

"I didn't know that the yunas could snore so loud," Sen stated, glad that they were outside, in the cool breezy air, where at least it was quiet enough to talk.

Rin stifled a giggle and nodded. The night was as black as ever, and only the stars shone bright. The vast ocean that blocked Sen from her own world was almost invisible at this time, although they could hear the serene waves roaring quietly. It was almost perfect, in Sen's opinion.

"So, what was written on the scroll anyway?" Rin then asked the main question.

The younger girl groaned, wishing she never had to cross that subject. She sighed and answered:

"Well… Bou wants me to visit his nursery to play with him. Somehow, he got the news that I now have a job here."

"With all that noise the workers made trying to catch you the other day; I wouldn't doubt that anybody within a hundred miles from this bathhouse would have heard!" Rin snorted.

Sen managed a small smile before stating her main problem.

"But if I want to visit him in the nursery, I'll have to pass Yubabaa's office and…"

But Rin already got the message.

"Oh boy," she said. "That _is_ a problem…. Sen, you should know: you can't trespass Yubabaa's office anytime you want! Most of the workers here never even got a chance to enter the office again after applying for their job! And you were just lucky the last time…"

Sen groaned, already knowing that piece of information.

"Then how _am_ I going to do it? I'm sure that, if I refuse to go, Bou'll keep sending me messages until he finally explodes and never speaks to me again!"

Rin sighed, but answered her young friend anyway:

"Well then, the obvious answer is to sneak in Yubabaa's office!"

Sen groaned again and asked desperately:

"Is there any other answer? I'm already on Yubabaa's bad side!"

Rin shrugged and managed a small forced smile:

"Nope. Sorry kiddo, but if you want to see Bou, that's the only way there is to it! Just hope that you won't get caught!"

The fourteen-year old child set her mouth on a thin, determined line before getting up and returning inside.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Rin whispered urgently after her.

Sen didn't turn around, but she managed to reply softly:

"If I want to sneak in Yubabaa's office tomorrow, I better get some good rest!"

Even though the conversation was over and Sen was now sleeping, Rin stayed on the balcony a little longer.

"Sooner or later…" she murmured to herself. "Sen will have to know about Haku…"

She sighed, thinking about Sen's reaction when she would find it... _Maybe she already knows…_ Rin thought, but that was unlikely. Soon, she stood up and went back inside too. But not before whispering to the wind:

"Good luck, Sen."

"_Where_ is that human child today?" one of the yunas asked impatiently as the looked around the bathhouse.

"Oh… I think she's working somewhere else today," Rin suggested.

The yuna gave her skeptical look, but all she said was:

"Well, she better be working hard today! Or else I'm reporting that _human_ to Yubabaa!"

Even though she was listening from a floor higher, Sen could still perfectly see and hear what Rin and that yuna were saying in the main hall. She saw Rin nodding solemnly at the yuna's remark, and she hoped that Rin could cover for her as long as she could. Last night, Sen formulated a plan to visit Bou's nursery: it wasn't foolproof, but with a little bit of luck and skill, she could reach the place unharmed. But to perform the plan, the young girl had to skip work today, which was highly dangerous because Yubabaa would look for any excuse for her to turn Sen into a piglet -or worse: dragon chow. Sen shivered as she imagined Kohaku eating the chow without even realizing it was her… but wait a minute: did dragon chow exist? Well, it didn't matter because Yubabaa would then invent it anyway…

_Enough stalling,_ the human girl suddenly thought. _It's now time to put the plan into action!_

She knew that Yubabaa's office was at the top level, so she first headed for the elevator. _Too bad I can't take the stairs,_ Sen thought, _but it's way too risky with all those people coming and going…_ As she ran out of the current hall she was in, she hoped that nobody would accompany her on the elevator: if anyone did, they would be suspicious and the worst that could happen was they would report her to Yubabaa. Fortunately, she was in luck: the corridor was deserted when she finally spotted an available elevator. Sen grinned quickly to herself before rapidly dashing into the small space. The door swiftly closed, and the girl pulled the lever. _Hopefully, the elevator will still go to Yubabaa's apartments like the last time…_ Sen thought.

She had to smile when the elevator's doors opened: she was almost utterly convinced that she wouldn't make it this far! However, even though it _was_ the floor of Yubabaa's apartments, it was a different section. _Well, I should have known I wouldn't end up at the same place as last time…._

Sen had to admit she was a little bit careless as she ran through the magnificently decorated halls to find Yubabaa's office. So careless that she didn't look where she was going and bumped into…

SMACK!

Sen landed on the carpeted floor abruptly.

"Ow…" the girl couldn't help but moan as she put a hand unto her aching head.

Wait a minute… did she _actually_ bump whoever it was on the head! Or was it because she landed with her head…? Her head was spinning, so she couldn't concentrate very well, but she could still hear the awfully familiar voice asking:

"Are you alright?"

She didn't open her eyes at first, still trying to recover from her aching head. But when she suddenly felt a hand softly but firmly grip her arm, she couldn't help but open her eyes and gasp.

He drew away when he heard her gasp, but he still kept his eyes on her strangely familiar honey-hazel ones… He could clearly see that the girl –the _human_ girl- was startled, but she managed to utter the words:

"Kohaku, is that you…?"

For once, he couldn't come up with a proper answer, because it suddenly hit him: this girl was the same intruder who prevented him from completely closing the portal of Majou No Sekai. He closed his eyes, trying to think: this human girl… how did she do it? How did she resist his efforts? How could she break the energy field…? When he was performing the spell to entirely shut the gates of the Spiritual World, he could feel someone pushing against his magic, against his efforts, against _him…_ At first, it was easy to push back: he kind of knew that his opponent was a human, and she/he was weak. But then, the intruder pushed harder, and he thought that he underestimated the human, until he realized that it was weakening. He was about to win the unusual fight, when…

_When what? Why did I stop when she screamed 'Haku'? It isn't even my name! But… somewhere… I feel as if there is a connection… somewhere… between… what? Is that why I stopped and she then broke barrier? Is that why I wasn't strong enough to sustain her?_ He wondered.

"Kohaku…"

He blinked as he came back to reality. He also then realized that he still had his hand on her arm, and he let go instantly. He stood up, and noticed that the small (according to him) girl was looking at him, with an expression of mixed hope and curiosity. He glared back at her, wondering why he even stayed that long beside her: he usually didn't do that!

_I shouldn't let my senses get confused…_ he thought.

"It's Master Kohaku to you," he then replied coolly to the human child.

She was only starting to get up, and when she heard what he said, she looked up, surprised, then confused, and suddenly, it seemed that she realized something, because she ended up with a hurt expression as she whispered:

"You don't remember, don't you…?"

He had no slight clue on what she was talking about, but the question still nagged his mind. _What don't you remember? Are you really who you think you are? Forget, remember, forget again… Why won't you remember…?_ Questions swirled in his mind, and the last one seemed to mock him. Why was this question taunting him? Many workers used to ask him what kind of missions and tasks he carried for Yubabaa, and he always refused to answer them. These questions never came back to haunt him… why did this one did?

"I don't remember ever meeting any humans personally," he answered to the girl. "And you shouldn't ask useless questions. Next time, move out of my way immediately, instead of wasting my time."

He then turned his heels and left.

Sen watched sadly as she watched him leave to an unknown destination. _So the dream was right…_ she thought bitterly. _That's what Rin and Kamajii didn't want to tell me… But how? Why? _

She pushed these unwanted questions to the back of her mind and once again set off to Yubabaa's office, this time walking. Sooner than expected, she reached the two huge intimidating doors that led to Yubabaa's office. The first thing that caught her attention was the magical doorknob: although it wasn't active yet, Sen glared at it. She really didn't want to make a conversation with it (or should she call it 'him'?), but she didn't know if Yubabaa was inside… Maybe, just maybe, she could trick the doorknob by telling her if the old sorceress was there at all… Tentatively, Sen reached out for the small, golden knob, and almost instantaneously, it rolled its eyes in an appalling way and glared at her, asking in a gruesome voice:

"What do you want now, you puny human?"

Sen gave him an irritated look, but answered calmly:

"Oh… I just want to see Yubabaa, that's all. But tell me: is that any of your business?"

This clearly angered the doorknob, because he gritted his teeth and hissed:

"Of course it is my business! If Yubabaa isn't in her office, like now, I take messages for her! And you'll be sorry for asking that insolent question: she'll come back soon and when I tell her…. Oh, aren't you going to get it!"

The human girl just smiled, triumphant. And without another word, she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door with an immense force.

"HEY! _What do you think you're doing!_" the flabbergasted doorknob demanded.

But Sen had already dashed off towards the nursery. _I really hope that Yubabaa won't come back soon: if she does, I'm in for it!_ She thought as she ran past other unimportant rooms. Finally, she reached Yubabaa's office's doors. Of course, they weren't as big as the previous ones, but they still had an intimidating aura, probably to tell you that trespassing here could cost you your life. Sen hesitantly opened the doors, and peeked in. To her relief, nobody was there. She then slowly crept in and looked around. There was the huge desk in the middle, with stacks of papers and scrolls on the desktop. Behind the expensive desk was an immense window, showing the clear blue sky. Underneath Sen's feet was a stunning carpet, with rich dark colors.

The fourteen-year old girl briefly wondered why she never contemplated the room better before… the whole thing was amazing. _Well…_ she thought, _it is Yubabaa's office, she's bound to decorate it the best way she can…_

She then searched for the door that would lead to the nursery, which wasn't hard to find because she spotted it in less than a second. Unfortunately, it was a little too late because Sen then heard loud footsteps coming closer, and the familiar groans and mutters such as:

"A human? In my office! How despicable! If what I hear is true, the intruder will pay dearly for its deed!"

Sen gasped and rushed towards the nursery door. She grabbed the doorknob and tried to pull the door open, but… her efforts were in vain: it was locked! _Why did Yubabaa lock the nursery door this time?_ She thought bitterly. If she didn't hide soon, she would be dead meat… literally!

As she kept trying to open the door, Sen could hear Yubabaa's footsteps coming closer, and she knew that anytime now, the witch would open the office doors and discover a filthy human in her office… or that's what she thought until suddenly, from inside the nursery, the door slammed open and a huge, thick arm grabbed Sen inside. The human girl had no time to gasp or to scream: but she did have the time to be grateful that Yubabaa wouldn't turn her into a piglet or dragon chow; not now… not yet.

"I could have sworn I heard something in here," Yubabaa grumbled as she opened the big wooden doors to her office.


	7. Flash Back On Four Years Ago

"Bou?"

"I'm here, Sen."

"I'm so glad it's you! And thanks for saving me from Yubabaa's wrath!"

"Baba isn't that bad; she just doesn't like humans."

Sen nodded slightly, but she doubted that Bou even saw it because they were both hidden inside a huge mountain of immense, fluffy pillows.

"Let's get out of here," she then muttered to herself.

She was about to get out of their hiding place when the bigger-than-average baby suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside.

"Ouch!" Sen cried. "Why did you do that, Bou!"

"Shhh…" Bou shushed her. "Baba is coming: if you don't want her to turn you into something horrible, you should stay here… and _don't move!"_

The human girl was confused for a minute: Yubabaa was coming…? But then she heard the loud footsteps coming nearer to the nursery and she understood: Yubabaa was going to check on her baby… as usual.

"Where is my precious Bou?" the old sorceress cooed tenderly.

Sen gritted her teeth and made herself as small as possible, hoping that she wouldn't get discovered. Bou moaned as if he was just awakened from his sleep.

"Aw… my little baby was taking a nap…" Yubabaa said and, to Sen's dismay, approached the huge mountain of pillows where they were hidden.

"Come on out, baby: Baba wants to see you!" the aging witch smiled as she began throwing the pillows away from the mountain.

Sen cringed.

All of a sudden, Bou started jerking in all directions violently; the girl barely avoided being hit by his leg.

"Little Bou doesn't want to see her Baba?" Yubabaa asked affectionately (Sen guessed that she removed enough pillows to see her son's face).

The huge baby shook his head and jerked even more brutally. Sen closed her eyes, wondering why Yubabaa didn't suspect she was here yet… Big mistake: the sorceress then seemed to pause and sniff the air as she stated:

"It smells like humans in here… Is it somewhere in here? I don't want to endanger my little precious baby with a human near him!"

Sen froze: it was the end. Surely Yubabaa will find her and turn her into dragon chow… But Bou must have sensed the danger too because he swiftly started crying.

"What's wrong, dear?" Yubabaa asked to her baby.

"… (Sob)… Leave… (Sniff, sob)… me… (Sob, cry)… (Sniff, sniff)… ALONE!" Bou yelled.

Sen silently gasped, and the old sorceress was quite taken back. But Yubabaa still managed to nod with a smile on her face as she replied:

"Of course, sweetie: you need to sleep."

She then quickly turned around and headed back to her office, muttering:

"Maybe the smell was just my imagination… either that or Sen's here."

The human girl cringed and shrank herself underneath the pile even more. Finally, when both baby and girl were sure that Yubabaa was gone completely, Bou stood up, tumbling many pillows. Sen crawled out after, looking a little nervous, but relieved.

"That was close: I thought for sure that Yubabaa would find me!" she managed to say, sighing in relief.

"Baba hates humans… especially if they escape from her," Bou stated, nodding. "But we don't need to worry about her now: when she's doing her work, Baba almost never pays attention to the noise around her."

Sen managed to smile weakly, and asked:

"So you did send the message, right?"

The huge baby nodded, and added proudly:

"And I wrote it on my own too! It took me four years to do it without Baba… but I did it!"

"That's great!" Sen said to him, grinning. "And I see you didn't change a bit since the last time I saw you!"

"Baba says I take a very long time to grow… but she says that's good thing!"

"Yes, I guess… Anyway, what do you want with me?" Sen finally asked, a little hesitant because the sentence seemed a little blunt.

"I want you to stay and play with me!" Bou declared. "Nobody ever finds time to play with me!"

"Well…" the girl fidgeted a little. "I can't play with you forever… but for a short time, okay! But please don't expect me to be available all the time: Yubabaa expects me to do a lot of work around the bathhouse!"

The baby seemed a little depressed by her statement, but he brightened up quickly, saying:

"Let's play!"

"Play, Sen: play with me!" Bou whined as he threw a huge, fluffy green pillow at the human girl.

"Huh…? What?" Sen asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

She shook her head and smiled apologetically at the baby. She wasn't giving Bou so much attention, and he knew it. It had been… how long? Thirty minutes? An hour… since they started playing? At first, Sen was just happy to escape from her work to play with Bou. They first played with trains and blocks, then they jumped and bounced on Bou's huge bed, and now the enormous baby wanted to play with his plushy toys. But by now, Sen's mind drifted to something else, something she was wondering for a long time…

"_I don't remember ever meeting any humans personally, and you shouldn't ask useless questions. Next time, move out of my way immediately, instead of wasting my time."_

"_There is no Chihiro or Sen in my life."_

"_You had to forget… and when you forgot, you couldn't remember anymore. You couldn't remember your friends… nobody… not even me. I couldn't live knowing that I once had somebody special in my life… who would never know my existence. I would be left with a cracking heart forever… unless I chose to forget... Forget you… forever."_

_If you can't remember, you forget…_ Sen thought resentfully, recalling the previous incident when she finally got to talk to Kohaku… only to get hurt. _Was my dream really that accurate? Did he forget me… on purpose?_ She sighed.

"What are you thinking, Sen?" Bou suddenly asked, throwing his teddy bear away.

"I'm thinking…" she said. "Do you know Kohaku?"

"Dragon boy," Bou just said.

_Dragon boy?_ Sen wondered. _How come I never heard that nickname…?_ She then laughed softly. _Probably something Rin invented… and it went around the bathhouse. _

"Why did he forget me, Bou? He seemed so cold to me these days," she confirmed sadly to him. But then she sighed: she knew he couldn't possibly have answers for her… well, definitely not answers she _wanted_.

That's why she was deeply astounded when Bou answered:

"I'm sorry, but I don't know the whole story, Sen… But I know a part of it."

The human girl perked up.

"You do?" she asked uncertainly.

"I remember the day when you left the Spirit World," he said. "Right after you crossed the plain and returned to your mommy and daddy, Kohaku went to talk to Baba."

"Please continue, Bou," Sen urged him eagerly. She really wanted to know what happened the last four years to her friends here… but most important of all, to Kohaku.

"Okay, Sen," Bou nodded. "You just left, and he went to the bathhouse to talk to Baba…"

* * *

Bou just returned to his nursery, and as he started to build his own private castle made from his immense collection of pillows, his first thought was how much he missed the fresh air. Sure, the nursery was a big room, and it had a friendly aura to it (probably because of one of Baba's spells), but the fresh air was much better: it just had… something he couldn't say… maybe the smell of freedom… the smell of _liberty_… He was sure that he would return to the great world beyond the bathhouse, even if he had to scream at his mother and ruin her whole business. Then he thought of the little (but still older than him) girl: the human by the name Sen… or Chihiro.

_I miss Sen…_ he thought. When will she come back? He hoped he'll remember to ask Baba the next time she comes to the nursery. Just then, he heard steady footsteps entering Baba's office, and a cool male voice:

"We need to talk, Yubabaa."

_Is that dragon boy?_ Bou wondered. All he knew about Kohaku was that Sen liked him a lot… and that flying on him was fun.

"What is it now, Haku?" Baba grunted as she worked on.

The baby could just picture the scene; Baba on her desk, writing on one of her many scrolls, and dragon boy near the entrance, with 'his face'.

"I am no longer Haku: I am Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, and this time Yubabaa, you will not take that memory away from me," dragon boy replied evenly.

Baba growled and snorted:

"So you remember that damn name of yours! That doesn't matter: I still have your contract!"

"That's what I'm here for now: to terminate my contract," Kohaku then went to the main point.

By now, Bou had already destroyed his pile of pillows to slowly open his nursery door to see what was going on. He made sure that the door was opened only slightly, because Baba would end the conversation immediately if she knew her son was listening. Now that he could actually _see_ the scene, Bou noticed that Baba was slightly trembling of anger.

"There is no way to terminate your contract _now_, Ha-… I mean, _Ko_haku," Baba hissed at him.

"I know that," Kohaku stated. "And I also know that, once I remember my real name, terminating my contract _is_ possible. So, if I can't terminate my contract now, when can I do it?"

"I taught you well, a little _too_ well," Baba growled at her apprentice. "Very well, I shall tell you: you can stop being my apprentice in a _year_: no more; no less. After three hundred sixty-five days, we can talk again about you leaving this bathhouse. But for now, I think I made it clear to you that you cannot leave yet. Now go, and just because Sen gave your name back, I expect you to work as hard as if nothing happened… or else you may not be here at the end of this year…" she glared at him as she finished her last sentence.

Dragon boy just gazed coolly at her, and bowed shortly.

"Of course," he whispered before leaving the bathhouse.

Before Bou returned to his nursery and his now destroyed castle of pillows, he saw his mother smirk, but what he didn't hear was what she said…

"If you'll still want to go back to her…" Yubabaa muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Is that all you remember, Bou?" Sen asked after listening intently to the baby's story.

"Well, that's what happened just after you left, Sen," Bou answered.

"What happened to Kohaku then?"

"Dragon boy worked as hard as ever for the rest of the year, and he kept thinking of you and how to get back to the Human World," Bou stated. "And a year after, he returned to Baba's office with the same subject."

"Were you there when he talked to Yubabaa's again?" Sen questioned him eagerly.

Bou nodded.

"Tell me…. please?" the human girl then urged him.

Bou just sighed before launching into the story.

* * *

This time Bou was sound asleep in his mountain of fluffy pillows when the heavy doors leading to Yubabaa's office slowly opened. The huge baby stirred in his sleep, and when his eyes finally opened, he somehow abruptly knew that today was the day when Kohaku would return to Baba to demand release again. Quickly, he tore his pillow castle apart, and crept near the nursery door to hear what Baba would say to dragon boy.

"What do you want, Kohaku?" Yubabaa grunted, not looking up from her scroll she was writing.

"You know perfectly what I want, Yubabaa," Kohaku retorted with a blank expression –as always.

The elderly sorceress ignored her apprentice for a moment or two, but then she sighed and finally looked up.

"Oh yes… about your contract, am I right?" she drawled as she put down her expensive golden pen.

Kohaku just nodded solemnly.

"Very well, very well…" Yubabaa sighed.

She then got out of her huge velvet chair to search for Kohaku's contract. Bou didn't know what exactly was going on, so he slightly opened the nursery door, such as last time, to get a better view of things. When the baby saw his mother rummaging for the contract, he became a little confused; Bou knew Baba would not give up her apprentice so easily, especially after years and years of teaching him powerful sorcery. He continued to watch as Yubabaa finally found Kohaku's contract, returned to the comfortable chair, and then inspected the scroll.

"Destroy it," Kohaku suddenly commanded Yubabaa in a firm voice.

The river spirit now had a highly determined look on his face. But Yubabaa merely shook her finger at him.

"You cannot command me like that, Kohaku!" she snapped. "Even if you do have your name back since last year, don't forget: I am the mistress of this bathhouse!"

Kohaku ignored the old witch's rude comment and kept his gaze even.

"Fine, fine," Yubabaa sighed again. "It's true: you _can_ terminate your contract now…"

She was fiddling with the important scroll now, and it seemed as if she was about to destroy it… until a smirk unexpectedly spread across her aging face.

"But…" she suddenly said. "There are some consequences you will certainly not like."

Kohaku said nothing, so Yubabaa continued:

"Let me guess what you will do when I release you… you will try to find your way to return to that abominable human named Sen, right?"

Kohaku didn't answer at all, but Bou could tell by his mother's face that she already knew the answer. Yubabaa laughed softly to herself, and then addressed to the young spirit:

"But Kohaku, you jut _can't_ cross the border of Majou No Sekai to go to the Human World…"

"Why?" Kohaku asked, frowning slightly.

"Don't you _see_?" Yubabaa chuckled. "You are a river spirit and Sen is a human: you both live in two different worlds, and to the Human World, the river named Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi is gone…dead. And you just can't return to Sen's world… as a spirit."

"There has to be a spell to make me human," Kohaku responded, his face void of expression. But his voice was slightly high, which was unusual for him.

Yubabaa seemed to think about his question for a while before speaking to him again:

"Yes, perhaps there is that kind of spell, but Kohaku… do you _really_ want to go back?" she then grinned a horrible smile to the dragon boy.

"What do you mean… if I really want to go back?" Kohaku replied coldly. "Of course I want to go back: I made a promise to Chihiro a year ago that we will meet again, and I have absolutely no intention to break that promise."

And with that response, Yubabaa's wicked grin only grew wider as she whispered:

"But maybe _Chihiro_ doesn't even know about this promise… maybe she doesn't even know…"

But she was cut off by Kohaku:

"What do you mean by Chihiro not knowing about the promise? She was the one who made me promise her in the first place!"

Bou could see that Kohaku was now getting angered by Yubabaa's slow game. Bou himself was trying to figure out what Baba was getting to.

"And to think I once thought that you were smart, Ha –I mean, _Ko_haku," Yubabaa retorted. 'What I mean is… what if this human… _Chihiro_… doesn't remember you if you go back to her?"

"That's absurd!" Kohaku said, scowling. "Why would she forget me?"

Yubabaa shrugged carelessly.

"Maybe she didn't want to forget… maybe a power beyond the Spiritual and Human Worlds made her lose memories of Majou No Sekai…"

By now, Kohaku was truly angered by what the old sorceress was saying.

"Just tell me exactly what you want to say, Yubabaa," he said to her, his voice even again but his face fierce.

Yubabaa abruptly exploded. Thankfully, Bou thought, Yubabaa didn't explode as in her bun suddenly untied itself and she suddenly rushed herself to Kohaku to suffocate him in her raging fire and wrapping him up with her long, snake-like hairs. No, as in 'explode', it meant Yubabaa unexpectedly revealed what she truly wanted to say.

"I mean…" the elderly witch shouted at Kohaku. "That when Sen crossed the tunnel, every memory of Majou No Sekai was erased from her mind, you clueless river spirit!"

She then returned to her calm position and smirked at Kohaku's stunned figure. Of course, the young spirit (**A/N:** as in 'young', I mean that Kohaku will probably just be a few centuries old) quickly regained his composure and questioned defiantly:

"Is this one of your tricks to get me to stay in this bathhouse, Yubabaa?"

"No," Yubabaa replied, returning her attention to the scroll she was previously working on. "Of course not, Kohaku: this is a fact. So if you ever will see that puny human again, she wouldn't even remember you!"

"Did you put a forgetfulness spell on Chihiro when she left just because you were angry at her?" Kohaku asked, his face now revealing compassionate hatred.

Yubabaa shortly glanced his way, and smirked again.

"This has nothing to do with me or any of my spells," she answered him. "This is simply the way it's supposed to be: although Sen changed my bathhouse quite a bit, _she_ isn't supposed to change from this visit. That's how the gods want it to be… so be it."

Bou now knew Yubabaa wasn't lying, and Kohaku must've also known this because his angered expression died away to be replace by grief.

"So now, let me conclude: you cannot return to the Human World, because you are not allowed to as a _spirit_, but even if you could, I bet you wouldn't want to be heartbroken by one single little human who just simply couldn't remember you. So Kohaku…" Yubabaa then smiled again. "Do you still want to terminate your contract?"

Bou and Yubabaa could easily see how torn Kohaku was. He couldn't manage to utter his words, so Yubabaa continued.

"Although you_ can_ terminate your contract, you may not leave today because you made me lose so much work time! Anyway, even if you wanted to stay, I doubt your work will be as efficient because from now on, all you will think of is Sen… and how she forgot you… am I correct?"

Kohaku was still at lost for words, so Yubabaa spoke again.

"If you cannot make a decision of terminating your contract or not by three days, you will have to work for me for another year. And I don't want you to slack of because of a miserable human!" the elderly sorceress practically spat the last words at him. "Maybe, to make your mind more at ease, you would want to drink… this."

A terrifying smile appeared on her visage as Yubabaa conjured a silver goblet with her magic. This time, Kohaku actually regained his voice.

"What is that?" he asked, his voice mildly surprised.

"This, my apprentice, is an Object of Heart Forgetfulness Potion: it'll make all your silly problems of Sen disappear!" Yubabaa made a motion with her hands to indicate what she was saying.

But Kohaku was definitely not falling for that at all.

"I will never take that hideous potion," he shot at the aging sorceress. "And I hardly believe that Sen even forgot me in the first place!"

Yubabaa grimaced at him, clearly angered that he wouldn't take her offer.

"Very well," she finally answered, shrugging as if she simply didn't care. "If you ever change your mind, Kohaku, the potion will be waiting for you. And also, if you have nothing else to say, you are dismissed. Don't forget that if you do not return in three days to clarify that your contract is indeed terminated or not, you will be my apprentice for another year."

"Yes."

And Kohaku quickly left Yubabaa's office, without even bowing to his mistress. Before Bou closed the nursery door, he saw his mother gazing at the potion, muttering:

"He _will_ come back for this: I'm sure of it."

* * *

Sen was amazed at how much Bou knew about what happened four years ago. As she thought about it, she now knew that part of her dream was true: Kohaku had been grieved by the fact that she had forgotten him. But… he couldn't have possibly taken the potion Yubabaa offered him… could he? She decided to question Bou more about the subject, although it was obvious that the baby wasn't very much interested in what had happened four years ago.

"So did Kohaku make his decision after three days?" she then asked the huge baby as he was building another castle of huge, soft pillows.

Bou shook his head.

"Dragon boy couldn't make up his decision on time, and Baba made him work for her for another year," he answered.

"What happened after another year passed?" Sen questioned.

"He came back to Baba's office and decided not to believe about the part that you didn't remember him," Bou replied, adding pillows to his growing pile. "Of course, Baba was very angry that dragon boy didn't believe her, so she did the one thing she could to make him believe her."

"And what was that?"

"She sent him to the Human World as a human," Bou simply stated.

Sen gasped.


End file.
